


Christmas Carol

by AClusterOfFandoms



Category: Wire in the Blood
Genre: Christmas, F/M, It's a bit awkward, Merry Christmas, They're both alone at christmas, but happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-29
Updated: 2015-01-29
Packaged: 2018-03-09 14:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3252644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AClusterOfFandoms/pseuds/AClusterOfFandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belated Christmas fic. Tony realises he's alone for Christmas and gets up the courage to go and see Carol.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Carol

It was the 24th December and the university was closed for Christmas. There had been a gruesome set of murders a few weeks back but, sadly? thankfully? nothing since. Tony was thankful because no one else had been killed, but sad because Carol had no cause to call him. She had anyway, once, just to make sure he'd eaten and wasn't dead. He wasn't sure whether to appreciate it or be embarrassed. He appreciated it. 

The telly was particularly rubbish, owing to the festive season, so he turned it off in favour of Lara Croft. He was going to get up and switch the play station on, but he looked around the dimly lit room. There was a bottle of wine from a colleague and a box of chocolates on the table, and the silence reminded him that he would have to drink that bottle of wine alone of he didn't do something about it. He put them both in a carrier bag and quickly found a box of Christmas cards that he'd bought for the sake of it a while back. He wrote in the least damaged, least faded one 'Dear Carol, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Tony'.

\------------------------  
Carol sat on the sofa with Nelson, she was flicking through the channels and everything was Christmas. She left it on a music playlist 'The Best Christmas Songs Ever' as she reclined further and closed her eyes. She should've accepted the invite to go to Michael's, but she just didn't fancy it. There was no one she wanted to share this Christmas with. Well, maybe one. But no, she wouldn't ask him. She thought it implied something, lots of couples don't even spend Christmas together at first and she didn't want to seem needy. The lights on her fibre optic tree changed from blue to green to red to pink and the patterns on the ceiling were hypnotising, so much so she didn't hear the knock at the door.

\---------  
Tony had tried to look for a shop that was open to buy some wrapping paper or something but it was late and everywhere was closed. He decided it didn't really matter and drove over to Carol's. He knocked on the door with a little scene in his head. He would sing the first part of 'we wish you a merry Christmas' and Carol would ask what he was doing and he would say 'I've come to carol at Carol's.' She would laugh and let him in and they would drink that wine together. It didn't occur to him that Carol might have other plans until there was no reply to the knock. He knocked again, and then sighed. He should've known better, really. Carol had a family to spend Christmas with, she wouldn't be sat alone waiting for him. He turned around to go back to his car.  
"Tony?" The DCI was stood in the doorway looking bemused. "What are you doing here?" He shrugged and reached into his bag, lifting a bottle.  
"I brought wine. And chocolates." He sounded a lot more desperate than he meant to. She considered him carefully.  
"That's good enough for me." She walked back into her house and he followed, closing the door behind him. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back holding two glasses. Tony took out the box of chocolates and card and handed it to her.  
"Merry Christmas, Carol." She looked at them and then up at him.  
"These are nice. Where did you get them?"  
"A student gave them to me." He admitted. "The wine was from a fellow professor, too. I just didn't want to drink it alone." She smiled, put everything down on the table and gave Tony a hug.  
"You know, it's late, let's save this until tomorrow." She said. He nodded.  
"I'll have to throw poor Nelson off the settee then." He said, looking at the cat sleeping.  
"You don't have to." She whispered into his shoulder. She had to force herself to make eye contact after that.   
"Okay."   
Carol brushed her teeth and Tony stood awkwardly, waiting.  
"I didn't come prepared, I don't have any pyjamas." She came back into her bedroom and smiled. She undid his shirt buttons and he took his trousers off and they left it at that. Carol climbed into bed, claiming the far side as hers, and he cuddled up behind her.  
"Thanks for having me, Carol." He said, meaning in general, not just for Christmas.  
"Thanks for being here, Tony." She replied, meaning the same.


End file.
